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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
beautiful. no notes. will be stealing robin's nickname for future use.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
reflective
sad
It may have taken me half a month to get through this one, and I may not have always wanted to pick it up, but that doesn’t change the fact that Babel is an ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE.
The themes of colonialism run so deeply here, and honestly that made me hesitant to keep reading at times because it all hit a little too close to home. But every time I returned to it, I was completely blown away by Kuang’s magical Oxford world. The book is dense, packed with language and history, but the footnotes helped it feel more approachable. And beyond the powerful themes, the plot itself was engaging, and Robin’s character arc was incredible—watching him confront the harm behind his privilege and learn to have and use his own voice was unforgettable.
If you’ve been on the fence about this one, please pick it up! Its themes and messages are still so timely and important!!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The magic system is so creative and well-structured, with inspiring facts about languages and translation. I felt that the world-building and symbolism were strong enough to make the underlying messages very clear, but the writer insists on giving direct literal sentences to drive home the theme. I wish it was written for the reader to contemplate on, rather than being told exactly what they're getting out of the story.
Maybe the message was spelled out for the people who don't understand systemic oppression or can't relate to one of the POC characters, but the opportunity to dig deeper into a book is part of the excitement of reading, and I felt like the author spoon-fed me all there was to get out of it.
Maybe the message was spelled out for the people who don't understand systemic oppression or can't relate to one of the POC characters, but the opportunity to dig deeper into a book is part of the excitement of reading, and I felt like the author spoon-fed me all there was to get out of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Colonisation
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
overall i think the criticism that babel is too heavy handed with its message kind of misses the point... this isnt a metaphor that is elevated by subtly. its actually pretty relevant that the book make it extremely clear and impossible to forget that the british empire is an unforgivable and unrepentant evil built entirely on blood and suffering that those in power deliberately ignore for their own profit. it should be difficult to ignore and it should be constantly hammered in because that is how the characters are experiencing it -- as an ever-present force they cant untangle from every interaction they have and every privilege they are afforded. robin makes an effort to ignore this fact best he can for a large chunk of the book but doing so takes constant energy that is worn down more each day. every moment of happiness and peace he gets is tarnished by the truth of his position that he has to force himself to forget/ignore. notice that the footnotes kind of peter out in the last third, when robin doesn't need these reminders in the back of his head because they're constantly at the forefront.
genuinely i think r.f. kuang is an insanely talented author and that it is dismissive to go into her works with criticism on craft first (esp if its smth that doesn't apply to her other books) because most things i see people complaining about in terms of this book are either what i would consider stylistic choices or a direct result of the narrator being unreliable.
ultimately i find the middle of this book kind of dragging and the main character often pissed me off but the story itself did kind of blow my expectations out of the water in terms of how hard it was willing to go
genuinely i think r.f. kuang is an insanely talented author and that it is dismissive to go into her works with criticism on craft first (esp if its smth that doesn't apply to her other books) because most things i see people complaining about in terms of this book are either what i would consider stylistic choices or a direct result of the narrator being unreliable.
ultimately i find the middle of this book kind of dragging and the main character often pissed me off but the story itself did kind of blow my expectations out of the water in terms of how hard it was willing to go